Chapter 731

To no one’s surprise, the first contestant in the International Piano Competition finals gained a decent score from the judging committee.

More contestants took to the stage for their turns, and while some flourished, others floundered.

As a special guest judge for the competition, Caleb naturally scored the contestants as objectively as he could.

One of the contestants got a very low score, yet she muttered through sobs, “I have no regrets left in my life after meeting Mr. Powell in person. My heart is full even though I’ve lost.”

Soon enough, it was Hera’s turn to compete.

She took a deep breath before exiting backstage, her heels clicking across the floor.

Hera was confident of winning the competition because of her recent hard work.

She did not disappoint Sisley as her fingers traveled nimbly across the black and white keys and brought a beautiful piece to life.

Hera’s piece of choice was technically challenging and would have stayed off the list of options of most contestants, yet she did not shy away from the complex composition.

Her decision paid off. After she completed her performance, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Hera stood up from the piano bench and grabbed the microphone. Then, she walked toward the judging committee and said, “May I say a few words to Ms. Berry before the judges give their scores?”

Ashlyn looked at her coolly and replied, “Go on.”

They locked eyes as Hera deliberately wore an awkward smile, acting the part of a poor, bullied woman.

“I hope you won’t deliberately give me a low score because of our personal grudges. After all, too many rumors have been spreading on the web about your potential bias.”

The audience immediately directed shocked stares in Ashlyn’s direction.

Hera’s mention of biased behavior reminded them of the rumors spreading on Twitter, which alleged that Ashlyn purposely assigned low scores to contestants she disliked.

Meanwhile, Ashlyn arched a brow in response, making her thick-lashed, almond eyes appear even more seductive.

Then, Ashlyn deadpanned, “You seem to be a fan of rumors, Ms. Chapman. Why didn’t you remember any clarifications of the matter in other online articles? Instead, you only remembered the slanderous comments about me.”

In truth, Hera had brought up the rumors about Ashlyn’s unfair scoring out of concern that the latter would give her a poor score.

She believed that public scrutiny would force Ashlyn to give her a slightly higher score even if she underperformed.

After all, the public would believe that Ashlyn held a grudge against Hera if she graded her poorly.

“All right, judges. It’s time to give your score.” The host hastily spoke up to defuse the tense situation.

Ashlyn tossed aside her scoring device and declared, “Since Hera thinks I’m unfair, I’ll just forfeit my score. I don’t want to appear biased and harm my reputation. It’s unfair to me too.”

Ashlyn’s declaration stunned everyone in attendance.

A judge forfeiting her scoring rights was unprecedented since the induction of the International Piano Competition.

Hera’s expression froze as she pondered the implications of Ashlyn’s decision. The score for each contestant was an average of the five judges’ scores.

If she forfeits her right, only four judges will grade me instead of five. Will my average score be divided by five or four?

Her breath caught in her throat, and she gritted her teeth in indignance.

That b*tch! How dare she set me up like this! If the scores are still divided by five, I’ll tank the competition! It might be okay if they decided to divide it by four.

The host’s awkwardness was palpable as he asked, “What should we do now, Mr. Powell?”

Displeasure colored Caleb’s handsome face. He replied sternly, “Where are your manners? How can you publicly question a judge’s integrity as a contestant? How did someone like you make it to the finals?”

Apart from Ryan and Ashlyn, the other two judges on the panel looked away guiltily when they heard Caleb’s words.

Lucas, who was clad in a black shirt with its sleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms, had been sitting beside Joseph at the competition.

He crossed his legs elegantly as he sat. His handsome face, on the other hand, looked stony.

He narrowed his eyes and glared coldly at Hera’s face.

Who the heck does she think she is to accuse Ashlyn in public?